Eugene PD: Now-deceased Grandmother suspect in 2-year-old's death

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EUGENE, Ore. -- Police say they think a now-deceased grandmother is to blame after a toddler received a fatal dose of methadone in December.

Officers said 2-year-old Maxwell Maciejewski was unresponsive on December 8, 2013 when the boy's grandmother, Carol Lumsden, was performing CPR.

Investigators with the Eugene Police Department now say Lumsden is the one they suspect of giving the child a lethal dose of methadone.

“There were reports by more than one family member that she had a history of providing her children with methadone. And so this was part of a history,” said Eugene Police spokesperson Melinda McLaughlin.

Lumsden died just a few weeks after Max. The family said she had the H1N1 virus.

Since Lumsden cannot stand trial, she also cannot be considered guilty of Max's death.

McLaughlin said there would have been probable cause to charge her with first-degree manslaughter if she'd still been alive.

Max was put in his grandmother’s care after his mother passed away. His uncle Aaron Heuser said he and his wife Laurie tried to fight the ruling.

"Laurie had phoned state department of human services officials immediately after (Max’s mother) Katie's passing to report concerns about Lumsden's ability to care for max. She was told that it sounded like a civil matter and that we should get a lawyer,” Heuser said in a written statement.

"This has all been really hard on the family, and it’s nice that there’s some closure now," the statement read.

We contacted the Department of Human Services, they told us child welfare records and records of reports of abuse and neglect are protected under state and federal privacy law.